Sweden, Norway, Denmark give $500 mln to NATO project to send US weapons to Ukraine
U.S. President Donald Trump said last month the United States would supply weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but did not indicate how this would be done.
"With this contribution, we want to ensure that Ukraine quickly receives the equipment it needs, while strengthening NATO cooperation on Ukraine's defence and securing peace on Ukrainian terms," Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik said in a statement.
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the money would be available immediately and that Denmark would be willing to consider additional funding at a later stage.
"Speed is absolutely critical," he said in a statement.
Denmark's share is around $90 million while Norway said it will contribute around 1.5 billion Norwegian crowns ($146 million).
Sweden said it was contributing $275 million to the package, which includes Patriot missiles and other air defence equipment, as well as anti-tank munitions.
"Continued supply of this kind of American defence materiel, which Europe can't deliver in sufficient quantity, is decisive for Ukraine's defence capability," Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch told reporters.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance was grateful to the three Nordic countries for their fast action to fund the package.
NATO has said it would coordinate the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which is funded by European members of the alliance and Canada and will be divided into packages worth approximately $500 million.
The Netherlands on Monday was the first country to announce its participation with 500 million euros.
According to the Swedish government website, the country had donated 92.8 billion Swedish crowns to Ukraine by end of March this year.
($1 = 10.2815 Norwegian crowns)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
9 minutes ago
- Sky News
Trump vowed to end Ukraine war in first 24 hours of his presidency - nearly 200 days in, could he be close?
Seven hours is a long time in US politics. At 10am, Donald Trump accused Russia of posing a threat to America's national security. By 5pm, Mr Trump said there was a "good prospect" of him meeting Vladimir Putin"soon". There had, he claimed, been "great progress" in talks between his special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president. It's difficult to gauge the chances of a meeting between the two leaders without knowing what "great progress" means. Is Russia "inclined" towards agreeing a ceasefire, as Ukraine's president now claims? Is Mr Putin prepared to meet with his Ukrainian foe, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too? The very fact that we're asking those questions suggests something shifted on a day when there was no expectation of a breakthrough.
Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
Breakingviews - US punitive tariffs put India in a corner
HONG KONG, Aug 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A worst-case scenario for India on U.S. tariffs is now the base case. New Delhi called Donald Trump's decision on Wednesday to double the levy on the South Asian nation's goods to 50% because of its Russian oil purchases "extremely unfortunate". That's an understatement. Negotiating down this high rate before it goes into effect in three weeks is now an urgent priority for Narendra Modi - and will require a major compromise from the Indian leader. The new rate can inflict serious pain on the $4 trillion economy. New Delhi failed to lower the initial 25% tariff unveiled by the U.S. president on April 2. That was bad but didn't leave India much worse off than its peers. Analysts at Citi, a U.S. bank, warn the higher levy could trim 80 basis points or more off GDP growth, which logged in at 6.5% in the year to March, and make exports to the U.S. "unviable". These amounted to $87 billion last year. Such a dramatic fallout would require the government to support its exporters, either through fiscal backing or a weakening of the currency. Both are deeply unattractive prospects because India's fiscal deficit is widening on the back of lower tax receipts and a stable rupee has underpinned its message to global investors and companies that the country is open for business. Now that India is backed into a corner, the simplest solution to stabilise ties with its largest trading partner is to stop buying Russian oil which comprises 40% of total crude imports. Though Modi's administration insists that those purchases are a "national compulsion", India can easily manage without the waning discounts from Moscow, and even more so if global oil prices remain little moved by this prospect--as they have so far. To be sure, giving Russia a cold shoulder would be a blow to India's effort to maintain a multi-polar foreign policy, but a 50% tariff is too much to bear and retaliating could cost it even more. The U.S. only backed down from its escalating standoff with China after the People's Republic squeezed supplies of rare earths, a sector where it has 90% of processing capacity. Though India supplies about 65% of generic drugs in the U.S. and American companies depend heavily on Indian IT services, these are easier to replicate elsewhere. Whether Trump will succeed in forcing China to give up Russian oil is unclear. India, though, has a weaker hand and little capacity to bluff. Follow Una Galani on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab.
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
India's Modi says will not compromise interests of farmers, amid Trump's tariff salvo
Aug 7 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he will not compromise the interests of the country's farmers even if he has to pay a heavy price for it, in his first comments after U.S. President Donald Trump's salvo of a 50% tariff on Indian goods. Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on the South Asian nation on Thursday, taking the total levy on Indian goods being exported to the U.S. to 50% - among the highest levied on any U.S. trading partner. "For us, our farmers' welfare is supreme," Modi said in a function in New Delhi. "India will never compromise on the wellbeing of its farmers, dairy (sector) and fishermen. And I know personally I will have to pay a heavy price for it," he said. Trade talks between India and the United States collapsed after five rounds of negotiations over disagreement on opening India's vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases. Modi did not directly refer to the U.S. tariffs or trade talks. The new tariff, effective from Aug. 28, was to penalise India for its purchase of Russian oil, Trump has said. India's foreign ministry has said the decision was "extremely unfortunate," and that "India will take all necessary steps to protect its national interests." The U.S. is yet to announce any similar tariff for China, which is the biggest buyer of Russian oil. Experts have said China has been spared so far as it has a bargaining chip with the U.S. over its reserves of rare earth minerals and other such commodities, which India lacks. "The U.S. tariff hike lacks logic," Dammu Ravi, secretary of economic relations in India's foreign ministry, told reporters. "So this is a temporary aberration, a temporary problem that the country will face, but in course of time, we are confident that the world will find solutions." India has started making moves to signal that it might have to consider other partnerships in the coming months in the face of Trump's tariffs, which have led to the worst diplomatic showdown between the two countries in years. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing for his first visit to China in over seven years, suggesting a potential realignment in alliances as relations with Washington fray. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he would initiate a conversation among the BRICS group of developing nations about how to tackle Trump's tariffs. He said he planned to call Modi on Thursday, and China's Xi Jinping and other leaders. The BRICS group also includes Russia and South Africa. Ravi said "like-minded countries will look for cooperation and economic engagement that will be mutually beneficial to all sides."
